Summary of Chapter 1:Understanding LEGO Geometry

In chapter 1 of Building Robots with LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT it talks about sizes and units, Vertical Bracing, Diagonal bracing and Technical lift arms.

It starts to mention the 3 types of main LEGO part: The brick, The technical beam and the Stud less beam.one unit (Stud or LEGO unit) of a LEGO brick correspond with 5 horizontal cm and 6 vertical cm. It also mentions that three plates makes  one brick in height. 

When it talks about vertical bracing it is important to remember the 6:5 ratio that happens when you put one beam or block with a 90 degree angle to each other. the versatile construction of the Stud less beams have helped the robot to become more light and flowing in its motions

A option when building is to place a Diagonal bracing. to use it you need the Pythagorean theorem to find the measure that you need for the beam

The last one is the Lego lift arms. They help to get angles without using extra beams but can also be used to reinforce the structure